Thursday, October 30, 2014

Uluru: National Wonder in Australia

If you
find yourself Down Under, make it a point to visit one of Australia’s great
landmarks - Uluru. Located in the southern part of the Northern Territory of
Central Australia, the Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park is a UNESCO World
Heritage site that represents the country’s rich indigenous culture.

Covering
an area of over 2,000 square kilometers, the park got its name from its two
major features: Uluru or Ayer’s Rock (a large sandstone rock formation)
and Kata Tjuta or Mount Olga (a group of
large domed rock formations).

Uluru is
considered a sacred place by the Aboriginal people in the area. It boasts of
springs, caves and ancient paintings. Kata Tjuta (which translates as “many
heads”) has a total of 356 domes that
cover an area of 21.68 square kilometers. The conglomerate rock domes are held
together by sandstone and its highest point is over a thousand meters above sea
level. They are believed to be 500 million years old. Kata Tjuta is another
sacred place of ancient and powerful knowledge.

The park
is traditionally owned by the Anangu or local indigenous people who believe
that their culture has existed since the beginning of time. The domes are
landmarks of their supposed interaction with ancestral beings and tell of
their journey across Central Australia.
The place is recognized throughout the world for its natural and cultural
values.

The park
has a large number of rare plants found only in Central Australia. There are
also 21 species of native mammals living in the region. Efforts are underway to
reintroduce locally extinct animals like the mallee fowl, brushtail possum and
the black-footed rock wallaby.